IRELAND/AUSTRALIA
Irish Independent
Sarah MacDonald
Published 29/08/2014
The refusal of a Catholic newspaper in Australia to run an advertisement for a talk by former president Mary McAleese has been criticised as another attempt by the agents of the official church to silence those with views they do not agree with.
Censured cleric Fr Tony Flannery, who is a personal friend of the former head of state, told the Irish Independent that the refusal by the Sydney-based ‘The Catholic Weekly’ to publish ads to promote the event was “sad” and “ridiculous”.
The editor of the newspaper, Peter Rosengren, said that the refusal to run the ad was because of Mrs McAleese’s reported views on the ordination of women and homosexuality.
He said Mrs McAleese, who is completing a doctorate in canon law, had “an agenda”.
Mrs McAleese is a guest of the University of New South Wales’ chair of Modern Irish Studies in Sydney and the Catholic think-tank Catalyst For Renewal (CFR).
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